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Gulf camera reveals site of WWII sinking of SS Robert E. Lee, German U-boat

The German U-boat fired upon the American steamboat as it approached the mouth of the Mississippi

Heather Alexander
| on July 14, 2014

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

Top deck. On July 30th, 1942 at 10:30 PM, a torpedo from U-166 hit the vessel, which took about 15 minutes to sink. One officer, nine crewman, and fifteen passengers died as the vessel went down. less

SS Robert E. Lee

Top deck. On July 30th, 1942 at 10:30 PM, a torpedo from U-166 hit the vessel, which took about 15 minutes to sink. One officer, nine crewman, and fifteen passengers died as the vessel went ... more

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

Anemones flourish on the wreck of the SS Robert E Lee which was discovered in 2001, two miles from the German U-Boat that sunk it in 1942, U-166.

SS Robert E. Lee

Anemones flourish on the wreck of the SS Robert E Lee which was discovered in 2001, two miles from the German U-Boat that sunk it in 1942, U-166.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

The bow of the SS Robert E. Lee. The passenger steamer was on its way to New Orleans from Trinidad and was just 25 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi river when it was hit by a German torpedo. less

SS Robert E. Lee

The bow of the SS Robert E. Lee. The passenger steamer was on its way to New Orleans from Trinidad and was just 25 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi river when it was hit by a German ... more

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

Anchor chains on the SS Robert E. Lee
The ship was carrying 283 passengers, mostly victims of other U-boat attacks around the Atlantic Ocean. All but 15 of them survived the attack.

SS Robert E. Lee

Anchor chains on the SS Robert E. Lee The ship was carrying 283 passengers, mostly victims of other U-boat attacks around the Atlantic Ocean. All but 15 of them survived the attack.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

SS Robert E. Lee

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

An anemone covered gun on the SS Robert E. Lee.

SS Robert E. Lee

An anemone covered gun on the SS Robert E. Lee.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

SS Robert E. Lee

The American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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U-166 Conning Tower

U-166 sank three ships in July, 1942 before attacking the SS Robert E.Lee, all in the Gulf of Mexico.

U-166 Conning Tower

U-166 sank three ships in July, 1942 before attacking the SS Robert E.Lee, all in the Gulf of Mexico.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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U-166 Top Gun

Once the torpedo was sighted, the SS Robert E. Lee's escort vessel, PC-566, dropped several depth charges before assisting survivors of the ship.

U-166 Top Gun

Once the torpedo was sighted, the SS Robert E. Lee's escort vessel, PC-566, dropped several depth charges before assisting survivors of the ship.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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U-166 Close up

Those depth charges sank the U-boat with all hands. The wreck is considered a war grave and cannot be disturbed.

U-166 Close up

Those depth charges sank the U-boat with all hands. The wreck is considered a war grave and cannot be disturbed.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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U-166

For many years, the military believed that the U-boat had escaped and was destroyed the next day in another part of the Gulf by a Coast Guard plane. The error wasn't remedied until the wrecks were discovered only a few miles apart in 2001 and proper credit was given to PC-566, the U.S. submarine escorting the SS Robert E.Lee.

Now the two wrecks rest in almost 5,000 meters of water, a permanent monument to the lives lost on board and a reminder of a dark time in U.S. history.

Resting together

Now the two wrecks rest in almost 5,000 meters of water, a permanent monument to the lives lost on board and a reminder of a dark time in U.S. history.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Coral exploration

The E/V Nautilus crew are also studying deep sea corals like this one.

Coral exploration

The E/V Nautilus crew are also studying deep sea corals like this one.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Coral exploration

Brittle stars aren't the only deep sea creatures that make their home in coral - many crustaceans search for food among the coral's branches.

Coral exploration

Brittle stars aren't the only deep sea creatures that make their home in coral - many crustaceans search for food among the coral's branches.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Coral exploration

Why does the crew have a wiffle ball on Hercules? It lets us measure the coral and provides a consistent scale with which to track their growth in the years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. less

Coral exploration

Why does the crew have a wiffle ball on Hercules? It lets us measure the coral and provides a consistent scale with which to track their growth in the years after the Deepwater Horizon oil ... more

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Coral exploration

While coral are sessile (that means they don’t move) for most of their lives, many species can use their tentacles to shift position if the need arises.

Coral exploration

While coral are sessile (that means they don’t move) for most of their lives, many species can use their tentacles to shift position if the need arises.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Coral exploration

Like their near-surface counterparts, deep sea coral are often found living with associates, like this brittle star.

Coral exploration

Like their near-surface counterparts, deep sea coral are often found living with associates, like this brittle star.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Coral exploration

The organism we know as “coral” is actually a colony made up of many genetically identical smaller organisms, called “polyps.”

Coral exploration

The organism we know as “coral” is actually a colony made up of many genetically identical smaller organisms, called “polyps.”

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Coral exploration

That camera you see on Hercules' arm is called the BFC-6000 - its extremely high resolution allows us to capture the stunning images you've seen in this album and around the site.

Coral exploration

That camera you see on Hercules' arm is called the BFC-6000 - its extremely high resolution allows us to capture the stunning images you've seen in this album and around the site.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Coral exploration

Many of the coral you see near the surface have a symbiotic relationship with a group of photosynthetic algae. The algae provide the coral with energy, and the coral gives the algae a nice home in which to grow. Deep sea species like this one are predatory, and capture prey with their stinging tentacles. less

Coral exploration

Many of the coral you see near the surface have a symbiotic relationship with a group of photosynthetic algae. The algae provide the coral with energy, and the coral gives the algae a nice home ... more

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Coral exploration

If you see a particularly large coral, odds are it is old, very old. Scientists have found specimens estimated to have begun life thousands of years ago.

Coral exploration

If you see a particularly large coral, odds are it is old, very old. Scientists have found specimens estimated to have begun life thousands of years ago.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Deep Sea Brine Pool

Submerscible vehicle Hercules approaches the mussel crusted shore of a brine pool. These "underwater lakes" are formed in areas where highly salinated water pools in craters or other depressions on the sea floor.

Katy Croff Bell, vice president of Ocean Exploration Trust, talks about the remotely operated underwater vehicle named Argus, one of two ROVs, aboard the Exploration Vessel Nautilus Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013, in Galveston. less

The E/V Nautilus

Katy Croff Bell, vice president of Ocean Exploration Trust, talks about the remotely operated underwater vehicle named Argus, one of two ROVs, aboard the Exploration Vessel Nautilus Tuesday, ... more

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle

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The E/V Nautilus

Exploration Vessel E/V Nautilus will embark on a major expedition from June through October in its second year of exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea region.

The E/V Nautilus

Exploration Vessel E/V Nautilus will embark on a major expedition from June through October in its second year of exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea region.

Photo: Julye Newlin, Ocean Exploration Trust

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The E/V Nautilus

Exploration Vessel E/V Nautilus will embark on a major expedition from June through October in its second year of exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea region.

The E/V Nautilus

Exploration Vessel E/V Nautilus will embark on a major expedition from June through October in its second year of exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea region.

Photo: Julye Newlin, Ocean Exploration Trust

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Gulf of Mexico Wrecks

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Gulf of Mexico Wrecks

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Gulf of Mexico Wrecks

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Gulf of Mexico Wrecks

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Gulf of Mexico Wrecks

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Gulf of Mexico Wrecks

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Gulf of Mexico Wrecks

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Gulf of Mexico Wrecks

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Gulf of Mexico Wrecks

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Gulf of Mexico Wrecks

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Gulf of Mexico Wrecks

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Gulf of Mexico Wrecks

The SS Robert E. Lee, an American passenger steamer sunk in 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 25 miles southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi river. She now rests at a depth of 5,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust

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Deep Sea Life

Gulf researchers were treated to a rare sighting of a "Vampire Squid from Hell" as they operated an unmanned submersible at depths of over 3,000 feet.

Deep Sea Life

Gulf researchers were treated to a rare sighting of a "Vampire Squid from Hell" as they operated an unmanned submersible at depths of over 3,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust/ECOGIG

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Deep Sea Life

Gulf researchers were treated to a rare sighting of a "Vampire Squid from Hell" as they operated an unmanned submersible at depths of over 3,000 feet.

Deep Sea Life

Gulf researchers were treated to a rare sighting of a "Vampire Squid from Hell" as they operated an unmanned submersible at depths of over 3,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust/ECOGIG

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Deep Sea Life

Gulf researchers were treated to a rare sighting of a "Vampire Squid from Hell" as they operated an unmanned submersible at depths of over 3,000 feet.

Deep Sea Life

Gulf researchers were treated to a rare sighting of a "Vampire Squid from Hell" as they operated an unmanned submersible at depths of over 3,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust/ECOGIG

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Deep Sea Life

Gulf researchers were treated to a rare sighting of a "Vampire Squid from Hell" as they operated an unmanned submersible at depths of over 3,000 feet.

Deep Sea Life

Gulf researchers were treated to a rare sighting of a "Vampire Squid from Hell" as they operated an unmanned submersible at depths of over 3,000 feet.

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust/ECOGIG

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Deep Sea Life

The crew also came across this siphonophore, a jellyfish like creature which is actually made up of many separate organisms. It's thought the feather tentacles contain a powerful sting much like a Portuguese man-of-war. less

Deep Sea Life

The crew also came across this siphonophore, a jellyfish like creature which is actually made up of many separate organisms. It's thought the feather tentacles contain a powerful sting much like a ... more

Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust/ECOGIG

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Deep Sea Life

The crew also came across this siphonophore, a jellyfish like creature which is actually made up of many separate organisms. It's thought the feather tentacles contain a powerful sting much like a Portuguese man-of-war. less

Deep Sea Life

The crew also came across this siphonophore, a jellyfish like creature which is actually made up of many separate organisms. It's thought the feather tentacles contain a powerful sting much like a ... more

Photo: Nautilus Live

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Deep Sea Life

The crew also came across this siphonophore, a jellyfish like creature which is actually made up of many separate organisms. It's thought the feather tentacles contain a powerful sting much like a Portuguese man-of-war. less

Deep Sea Life

The crew also came across this siphonophore, a jellyfish like creature which is actually made up of many separate organisms. It's thought the feather tentacles contain a powerful sting much like a ... more

"I felt like I was in a movie or a TV show, where you see things that happen and it doesn't feel like it's real," said Kirpach, an art history teacher in Frisco schools. "We've been diving in this area close to shore for years, and it was just an amazing feeling."

It's only the third time a case like this has ever been reported, the last being in 2009. "These were healthy starfish," said Tony Reisinger, Cameron County Extension Agent for Coastal & Marine Resources with Texas Sea Grant at Texas A&M University.

"It's like swimming with a submarine with teeth," Kelly said. "I mean, it's huge, it's unbelievable down there; it dwarfs everything I've ever seen underwater."
According to scientists at Mote, there is at least one other Great White in and around the Gulf and her name is Betsy.

Scientists are now studying the photos of a rare and gruesome goblin shark accidentally caught in the Gulf of Mexico after they spotted another unusual deep-sea creature lying with the captured beast on the deck of the boat.

After a two-hour battle, the anglers finally got the hammerhead to shore where they noticed its injury.
Friends looked on in amazement as Campus started pulling shark pups out intact and rushing them to the water so they could swim away.

The Bald Cypress forest, protected in an oxygen-free environment for more than 50,000 years, was likely uncovered by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said Ben Raines, executive director of the nonprofit Weeks Bay Foundation and one of the first divers to explore the site.

The wreck, its identity and origin still unknown, remains in about 4,300 feet of water some 150 to 170 miles off Galveston. "What we have just completed is the deepest documentation, recovery and excavation of a shipwreck in U.S. waters," said James Delgado, one of eight marine archaeologists aboard the Nautilus.

Covadonga Arias, a professor of microbial genomics at Auburn University in Alabama, found that Vibrio vulnificus was 10 times higher in tar balls than in sand and up to 10 times higher than in seawater.

The discovery of three historic shipwrecks, most likely from the same event, is so unusual in the northern Gulf of Mexico that just about any information gained from their analysis will chart new ground, said a researcher on the project.

"I looked around baffled," she said by phone Thursday from Miramar Beach. "Is this really happening? It felt like something straight out of a movie."
Four days after the mysterious find, despite some promising leads, she's still trying to track down the owner. less

"I looked around baffled," she said by phone Thursday from Miramar Beach. "Is this really happening? It felt like something straight out of a movie." ... more

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Gulf camera reveals site of WWII sinking of SS Robert E. Lee, German U-boat

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Spectacular footage detailing World War II wrecks thousands of feet down in the Gulf of Mexico has been released by scientists doing a months-long deep sea expedition in the area.

Their ship, Exploration Vessel Nautilus, is loaded with experts from around the world, as a team lead by Penn State University checks the Gulf for damage from the BP Deep Water Horizon oil spill in 2010.

Scientists control two remote operated submersible vehicles equipped with cameras and sample collection tools which are used to scour the murky bottom. Real-time video feeds pump out their every move on the web.

Over this past weekend, amazing footage of two of the Gulf's most famous wrecks has been beamed back. New high definition images of the the SS Robert E. Lee and the German U-boat that sunk it in 1942 have been collected by the crew.

The stricken vessels lie almost 5,000 feet deep and serve as silent grave sites for the souls who lost their lives as they went down.

SS Robert E. Lee was carrying survivors from sister ships torpedoed in the Gulf, from Trinidad to New Orleans. On the June 30,1942, as it reached just 25 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River, a German torpedo hit.